Libraries go from the Dewey Decimal System to digital revolution

Broward and Palm Beach County libraries offer free e-books, music and more with mobile technology

April 28, 2012|By Doreen Christensen, Staff writer

Move over Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble. The local library is horning in on your territory, using cutting-edge technology to deliver electronic books, audio books and even music for free.

Libraries are employing the same high-tech delivery methods as online retailers, recently using QR Codes, mobile applications and websites to deliver the goods on the go.

"It's become quite clear that libraries need to keep up with the times as far as mobile technology and e-books are concerned," says Stephen Grubb, E-Services manager for Broward County Libraries. "About a third of the country has e-readers, so libraries need to be able to keep up with current technology. When people think of e-books, we want them to think of the library, not Amazon or Barnes & Noble."

Broward County Library Without Walls (BCL WoW) — accessible at Broward.org/Library — allows users to download 34,000 free e-books, as well as audio books and music. The titles, which are in the public domain, include popular classics such as "Moby Dick" and "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," Grubb says.

You don't even need a library card. "Once you download it, you can keep the e-book, no return necessary," he says.

The Broward library also offers the free "BCL Wow" mobile app that lets users quickly and easily download free e-books, search the catalog, place holds on printed books and locate the nearest library, and view upcoming events from an Apple, Android and BlackBerry smartphone or tablet. There are links to follow on Twitter and Facebook, too.

"People like to come to the library, but many like to download e-books from home or on a trip, so the local library becomes the app and the website," Grubb says. "It's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it's accessible from anywhere."

In May, Grubb expects to add a new downloadable book feature to the app, which will include bestsellers and newer titles. That will require a library card. The e-books are loaned for 21 days on devices, then are automatically removed from your cart and returned to the library so there is never a late fee.

In Palm Beach County, residents can download the same free e-books, too, using the free OverDrive Media Console for devices available at PBCLibrary.org, says Nicole Hughes, the libraries' community relations manager.

The Palm Beach County Library System also offers a free Apple and Android app called BookMyne, which lets users check out more than a million books, magazines, CDs, DVDs in the library's catalog.

Freegal Music Service

Perhaps most exciting is Broward's subscription to the Freegal Music Service. Users log on at Broward.Freegalmusic.com and can download three free MP3 songs per week from top hitmakers in the Sony Music Entertainment catalog. Choose from hundreds of thousands of songs from more than 50 record labels in every genre. There are audio book titles, too.

"This is a really unique library service," Grubb says. "You get to keep the songs forever. They never expire and they don't disappear."

Access the service with a library card number and a PIN (the last four digits of your phone number) to get the free tunes.

In April, Broward libraries began testing QR Codes on LCD screens in the baggage area at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and at Port Everglades cruise ship terminals. There also are QR Codes on colorful metal signs on the west wall near the information booth at the Central Bus Terminal in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

QR, or Quick Response Codes, are black-and-white barcodes scanned with a smartphone application that automatically send users to content on websites, no typing necessary.

"At the cruise terminal and airport, you can scan a QR Code and download titles without a library card Grubb says. They can be found on the

The Broward system's use of technology is getting attention. The website received the 2012 "Best Public Library Website" award from the Florida Library Association for its redesign and rebranding to BCL WoW in late 2011.

Additionally, PC Magazine featured it this month, in a piece about how libraries stay relevant with changing technology, specifically mentioning the QR technology.